Planes, Trains, and Lemonade Stands

By Brian Campbell

California’s Spending Problem Spirals Out of Control

California boasts the 5th largest economy in the world, yet somehow can’t manage its own checkbook. Despite record-high taxes, billions in federal and state funding, and expansive social programs, the state government has repeatedly failed to deliver measurable results — or even basic financial transparency.

Voters and taxpayers are rightly asking: Where has all the money gone?

Billions Spent, Virtually No Accountability

Let’s take a look at California’s spending “track record”:

• $24 billion spent on homelessness between 2018 and 2023 — yet audits show the state cannot track how the money was used; meanwhile homelessness is at record highs.

• $33+ billion approved for high-speed rail, yet only 22 miles of track laid over 17 years — with no train running, no major city connected, and costs now projected to exceed $100 billion.

• $8.5 billion per year spent to provide full Medi-Cal coverage to undocumented immigrants — a policy that exceeded cost estimates by nearly $3 billion in just its first year.

• Despite these staggering investments, California faces a $45 billion budget deficit. And still, its leadership demands more federal dollars, pushing the boundaries of legal accounting through Medicaid financing tactics that inflate costs and maximize federal reimbursements — a maneuver many watchdogs call “federal money laundering.”

“Technically Legal” Is Not Good Enough

California’s leaders are quick to assure us that these practices are “technically legal.” But legality isn’t the same as integrity. Hiding behind loopholes while squandering billions in taxpayer money is a violation of fiduciary duty, plain and simple.

From provider tax schemes in Medi-Cal to the shell game of homelessness grants, California’s bureaucracy has perfected the art of spending without accountability. This isn’t just bad governance — it’s systemic dysfunction.

Highest Taxes, Worst Management

• California ranks #1 in state income tax.
  

• #1 in sales tax.
  

• #1 in gas tax.
  

Yet despite this, our roads are crumbling, housing is unaffordable, and crime and homelessness are rising in major cities.

How does a state that collects so much deliver so little?

A Lemonade Stand Could Do Better

The truth is painful: a kid with a lemonade stand is more transparent, efficient, and accountable than the California state government.

At least that kid:

• Tracks revenue and expenses.
  

• Delivers a product that people want.
  

• Knows if they’re making or losing money.
  

• Doesn’t spend $30 to build a $1 cup.
  

California’s government, by contrast, spends billions on programs it can’t measure, projects it doesn’t complete, and services that serve fewer and fewer Californians effectively.

Billions Lost, but Outrage for a Free Plane

While Democrats raise alarms about a $400 million plane donated to the U.S. government by Qatar — costing taxpayers nothing — Gavin Newsom, a governor with presidential ambitions, can’t account for tens of billions in actual taxpayer dollars already spent.

One international gift sparks outrage.

But massive waste at home?

That gets a pass.

At this point, a kid with a lemonade stand might be a better fiscal steward than California’s current leadership. Newsom’s gross mismanagement isn’t just embarrassing — it’s dangerous to the future of the state.

Time for Real Accountability

This is not a partisan issue — it’s a citizenship issue. Every taxpayer, regardless of party, deserves a government that:

• Tracks where every dollar goes.
  

• Measures outcomes honestly.
  

• Stops hiding behind bureaucracy and “technical” compliance.
  

California doesn’t have a money problem. It has a management problem — and that starts at the top.

Enough excuses. Enough waste. It’s time to demand the same competence and honesty from our government that we expect from a child running a sidewalk lemonade stand.

Take a look at COLAB’s latest video, “The Great Fee Heist”